The 2019 Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) finds 82 percent of retirees are confident in their ability to live comfortably throughout retirement, up from 75 percent last year and comparable to highs measured in 2005 and 2017. Furthermore, the percentage of workers who say they are very confident in their ability to live comfortably throughout retirement reached 23 percent, up from last year’s 17 percent and now reflecting levels measured more consistently in the late 1990s and early 2000s, prior [...]

Pension reform in Brazil cleared a congressional hurdle late on Tuesday after a lengthy and tumultuous debate, a sign that the government was finally building support for its most important economic reform, but which may face a steep climb ahead. The Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee (CCJ) in the lower house of Congress approved the constitutionality of a reform bill by 48 votes to 18, paving the way for analysis and discussion by a special commission. However, that optimism [...]

Workers can lose everything when their employer files for bankruptcy. At least for now. A pro-labor movement sparked by the employees of Toys “R” Us Inc., and taken up by Sears Holdings Corp., has reached the U.S. Congress. Representative Tim Ryan, an Ohio Democrat, said he plans to reintroduce 2017 legislation that would define worker claims in bankruptcy as administrative expenses, meaning they’d be paid in full, like the investment bankers, consultants, lawyers and liquidators who earn millions of [...]

Just as single-income families began to vanish in the last century, many of America's elderly are now forgoing retirement for the same reason: They don't have enough money. Rickety social safety nets, inadequate retirement savings plans and sky-high health-care costs are all conspiring to make the concept of leaving the workforce something to be more feared than desired. For the first time in 57 years, the participation rate in the labor force of retirement-age workers has cracked the 20% [...]

My Uber driver and I struck up a conversation about the Orlando traffic and weather. The chatter soon drifted into stories about his experiences living and driving in Florida. I soon learned my driver’s name was Bob. Raising his voice, and turning to get a look at my face in his rearview mirror, Bob asked me, “How old do you think I am?” I am always nervous to make such a guess — uttering a number either too old [...]

Recently, the IRS walked back protections that limited a company’s ability to offer a lump-sum payout for the monthly benefit provided by its defined-benefit pension plan. This strategy of offering lump sums allows companies to reduce their liabilities before purchasing a group annuity from an insurance company — a process known as “de-risking.” This de-risking strategy made the headlines in the U.S. in 2012 with an initiative by General Motors GM wanted to transfer its liability for retiree benefits to [...]

Some real estate and infrastructure fund managers dealing with building trades pension funds are doing better than others when it comes to connecting pension fund assets and union jobs, according to a report card released Wednesday at the North America's Building Trades Unions' Washington legislative conference. Building trades unions with a collective $600 billion in pension fund assets are increasingly demanding that connection, with a goal of moving $70 billion in pension assets over the next 10 years into [...]

Most Americans believe they’re on track for a comfortable retirement, according to a study from Natixis Investment Managers out Thursday. They feel they’re saving enough to enjoy the life they envision in their golden years. For the most part, however, they’re wrong, says Ed Farrington, executive vice president of U.S. distribution at the asset manager. In truth, not only are most workers not saving enough, but the amount they’ve salted away becomes more worrying as they age. That’s not [...]

Recently, the U.S. Treasury said that it is perfectly okay for companies to swindle employees out of their pension by offering one-time payments worth less than the pension that those employees are giving up. The Department of Labor, nominally responsible for protecting workers in retirement plans, said nothing. This isn’t the first time the government stood by as American businesses shifted risks onto their employees and retirees. Treasury and Labor, whose decisions shape the retirements of millions of people, [...]

A bipartisan group of legislators Friday introduced a bill that features core provisions of the Retirement Enhancement Savings Act and adds other measures that aim to bolster retirement security. The Setting Every Community up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019, referred to as the SECURE Act, includes provisions that would make it easier for smaller employers to join open multiple-employer plans, ease non-discrimination rules for frozen defined benefit plans and add a safe harbor for selecting lifetime income providers in [...]

Servicemarks

Lifetime Income Security Account (LISA) is a service mark of CORPaTH. Guaranteed Lifetime Income Account (GLIA) is a servicemark of CORPaTH. CORPaTH is a SAGE Solution: Sustainability Advocacy Governance and Education. CORPaTH is a Joint Labor Management Initiative.